


National Pretzel Day

by thestanceyg



Series: Darcy Lewis April Challenge [26]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Baked Goods, F/M, Singing in the Shower, writing challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-26
Updated: 2015-04-26
Packaged: 2018-03-25 19:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3822817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestanceyg/pseuds/thestanceyg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One night in the shower Darcy realizes she can hear her neighbor singing in *his* shower.  Soon they form a musical relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	National Pretzel Day

**Author's Note:**

> Day 26
> 
> Holiday: National Pretzel Day  
> Prompt: So we’ve never met but our showers are on opposite sides of the same apartment wall so sometimes we’re showering at the same time and we sing duets.

Darcy kept odd hours, which suited her just fine.  Between grad school classes and her job at the bakery, it was just as likely that that she would be sleeping in the middle of the day as it was that she would be working.  Honestly, she loved every bit of her life.  She had classes at Columbia, Just What You Kneaded, and the tiniest apartment this side of Midtown.  Life was good.

It was somewhat of a surprise one Tuesday night (or was it Wednesday morning?) at 3 AM when she realized she wasn’t the only one showering.  Apparently, so was her neighbor.  That she had never met.  That was currently singing “Fly Me to the Moon.”  These walls were thinner than she thought.  (Or was he just singing that loudly?)  She shrugged, turned on her shower, and prayed she would be getting hot water.  As she waited, she found herself humming along, and by the time she was in the shower and washing her hair, he had moved on to “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head,” and she was singing along with him.  She got really into it when the song changed to “Beyond the Sea.”  Apparently he could hear her too because she heard something crash and the singing abruptly stop. She wasn’t sure what to do.  Her neighbor was potentially in need of medical attention, and it was all her fault.  But then she heard his voice tentatively starting up again, and she sighed in relief that he was okay.  She joined back in.  This was the most interesting shower she had taken in months.

It was two weeks before she ended up in the shower at the same time as her neighbor again.  This time it was late Sunday morning.  She had finished up the morning shift, and she wanted to shower before she collapsed into bed.  She was the first one in the shower today.  She was halfway through “Wannabe” when her neighbor joined in.  She missed several notes, choking on her laughter.  She worked her way through “Criminal” and “No Scrubs” before she was ready to get out.  Her singing partner entertained her with some Mariah Carey as she dried and dealt with her hair.  She smiled at the wall as she went to the bedroom, ready for a few hours of sleep before working on her paper due Tuesday.

That Thursday Darcy had closed the bakery.  She loved every shift, but closing always meant she got to bring home items that didn’t sell.  Today she had two loaves of English muffin bread.  She carefully pulled one out of her bag as she walked down the hall and slapped  sticky note on it.  She wrote _To:  My Shower Time “Boy Named Sue”  From:  Your Friendly Neighborhood “Jessie’s Girl”_ and dropped the loaf in front of her neighbor’s door before she could stop herself.  That night they sang Tom Petty hits.

A week later there was a small gift bag hanging off her door handle.  She grabbed the bag and headed inside.  As she pulled out the tissue paper, a note fluttered to the ground.  She picked it up and read.   _“Splish Splash!” Saw this and thought of you._  Inside the bag she found a loofah shaped like a microphone.  She smiled and immediately cut the tag off so she could put it in the shower.

They went back and forth like this for several months.  One week they would shower at the same time three days in a row.  The next week their schedules wouldn’t match up at all.  Darcy continued to leave baked goods at the door once or twice a week, and every tenish days, a small trinket would show up at her door.  One day it was a chocolate orange, another day it was a Captain America slinky.

Today Darcy was leaving an assortment of pretzels at the door when it opened.  She was hunched down, placing the bag on the floor, and the sudden movement of the door startled her, causing her to topple over.  She landed with a thud on her tailbone.

“Owwww,” she whined.

“I am so sorry miss!”

Darcy took her time following her gaze up from his feet to his face.  He was dressed to work out, but even under the baggy shirt and shorts she could see that he definitely hit the gym frequently.  “It’s more than okay,” she said as she took his offered hand and stood up.  “Ummm, I was leaving these for you,” she said, handing him the pretzels.  “So I guess I should give them to you instead of leaving them on the floor.”

He took the bag from her  “Uh, I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m on my way to work.”

“Are you a trainer?” She asked.

“What?” he asked.  Then, realizing what he was wearing said, “Oh.  No.  I work out before I work.”

“Ohhhh,” she said lamely.  “Wait.  Do you work some weird night shift?  Because it’s 10 PM.”

“Not exactly,” he said.  “I have a conference call, so I need to be in by midnight for that.”

“Ahh.  Well, I’ll just get out of your way,” she said, turning toward her apartment.

“Wait!” He called.  She turned to face him.  “There’s a great karaoke bar a few blocks from here.  Would you like to get a drink sometime?”

Darcy’s lips curled up.  “Absolutely!”  She stuck her hand out.  “I’m Darcy, by the way.”

“Hi Darcy,” he said, his voice practically singing her name.  “I’m Phil.  It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

She put her hands on his upper arms and pulled herself up on her toes to place a light kiss on his cheek.  “The pleasure is all mine,” she said as she pulled away and turned back to her door.  “Have  lovely night, Phil,” she said as she let herself into her apartment.

The next morning she found a note on her door.   _“Friday I’m in Love” if you’re free, that is._

 

**Author's Note:**

> My brain is totally friend from spending most of the day working on my resume. Also, I spent WAY more time than I should have watching music videos on YouTube as "research." The husband and I also spent about half an hour coming up with pun based names for the bakery.
> 
> ("Beyond the Sea" is "our" song, so I had to include it.)


End file.
